Hello! Recently, I read the book “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda. I found the book interesting, deeply immersive, and highly elevating. Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian yogi and guru who introduced millions of westerners to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga. Although “Autobiography of a Yogi” primarily deals with Yoga, the mysticism surrounding it and entertaining stories of numerous accomplished Yogis of India, I found a particular piece of text in the book pertaining to India’s past, her colonisation and what the future holds for her. I found it quite interesting and I have reproduced it below. “Autobiography of a Yogi” is highly recommended for those who want to explore and understand in simple language the world of “Yoga” and the powers of various Yogis who inhabit the magical land called “India”. Happy Reading!

The idea of a well-rounded civilization is not a chimerical one. For millenniums India was a land of both spiritual light and widespread material prosperity. The poverty of the last 200 years is, in India’s long history, only a passing karmic phase. A byword in the world, century after century, was “the riches of the Indies”. Abundance, material as well as spiritual, is a structural expression of rita, cosmic law or natural righteousness. There is no parsimony in the Divine, nor in its goddess of phenomena, exuberant Nature.

The records of the history present India, up until the 18th century, as the world’s wealthiest nation. Incidentally, nothing in Hindu literature or tradition tends to substantiate the current Western historical theory that the early Aryans “invaded” India from some other part of Asia or from Europe. The scholars are understandably unable to fix the starting point of this imaginary journey. The internal evidence in the Vedas, pointing to India as the immemorial home of the Hindus, has been presented in an unusual and very readable volume, Rig-Vedic India, by Abinas Chandra Das, published in 1921 by Calcutta University. Professor Das claims that emigrants from India settled in various parts of Europe and Asia, spreading the Aryan speech and folklore. The Lithuanian tongue, for example, is in many ways strikingly similar to Sanskrit. The philosopher Kant, who knew nothing of Sanskrit, was amazed at the scientific structure of the Lithuanian language. “It possesses,” he said, “the key that will open all the enigmas, not only of philology but also of history.”

The Bible refers to the riches of India, telling us (II Chronicles 9:21,10) that the “ships of Tarshish” brought to King Solomon “gold and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks” and “algum (sandalwood) trees and precious stones.” from Ophir (Sopara on the Bombay coast). Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador (4th Century B.C) has left us a detailed picture of India’s prosperity. Pliny (1st Century A.D.) tells us that the Romans annually spent fifty million sesterces on imports from India, which was then a vast marine power.

Chinese travelers write vividly of the opulent Indian civilization, its widespread education and excellent government. The Chinese priest Fa-Hsien (5th Century) tells us the Indian people were happy, honest, and prosperous. See Samuel Beal’s Buddhist Records of the Western World (India was the western world to the Chinese!), Trubner, London, and Thomas Watters’ On Yuan Chwang’s Travels in India, A.D.629 – 45, Royal Asiatic Society.

Portuguese and Italian merchants have recorded their awe at the fabulous magnificence throughout the empire of Vijayanagar (1336 – 1565). The glory of its capital was described by the Arabian ambassador Razzak as “such that eye has not seen, nor has ear heard of, any place to equal it on earth.”

In the 16th century, for the first time in her long history, India as a whole fell under non-Hindu rule. The Turkish Baber invaded the country in 1524 and founded a dynasty of Moslem kings. By setting in the ancient land, the new monarchs did not drain it of its riches. Weakened, however, by internal dissensions, wealthy India became the prey in the 17th century of several European nations; England finally emerged as the ruling power. India peacefully attained her independence on August 15, 1947.

Like so many Indians, I have a now-it-can-be-told story. A group of young men, whom I had known in college, approached me during World War I and urged me to lead a revolutionary movement. I declined with these words: “Killing our English brothers cannot accomplish any good for India. Her freedom will not come through bullets, but through spiritual force.” I then warned my friends that the arms-laden German ships, on which they were depending, would be intercepted by the British at Diamond Harbour, Bengal. The young men, however, went ahead with their plans, which proceeded to go awry in the manner I had foreseen. My friends were released from prison after a few years. Abandoning their belief in violence, several of them joined Mahatma Gandhi’s ideal political movement. In the end they saw India’s victory in a “war” won by peaceful means.

The sad division of the land into India and Pakistan, and the short but bloody interlude that ensued in a few parts of the country, were caused by economic factors, and not essentially by religious fanaticism (a minor reason often erroneously presented as major one). Countless Hindus and Muslims, now as in the past, have lived side by side in amity. Men of both faiths, in immense numbers, became disciples of the “creedless” master Kabir (1450-1518); and to this day he has millions of followers (Kabir-panthis). Under the Moslem rule of Akbar the Great, the widest possible freedom of belief prevailed throughout India. Nor is there today any serious religious disharmony amongst 95% of the simple people. The real India, the India that could understand and follow a Mahatma Gandhi, is found not in the large restless cities but in the peaceful 700,000 villages, where simple and just forms of self-government by panchayats (local councils) have been a feature from time immemorial. The problems that beset a newly freed India today will surely be solved in time by those great men whom India has never failed to produce.

I am writing this post to express my admiration for Mr. Bill Gates, Mrs. Melinda Gates and all the people associated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Recently, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has become very active in partnering with the Indian Government to help in fighting diseases, social evils and providing innovative solutions to unsolved local social problems.

Although, the Gates Foundation is involved in philanthropic activities throughout the world, let me list a few of the projects that the Foundation has undertaken in India:

American business tycoon and philanthropist Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced an emergency relief fund of $7 lakh for the flood victims of Jammu & Kashmir.

The Gates Foundation provided monetary and operational support in the fight against Polio and India was declared polio-free this year.

The Gates Foundation provided monetary and operational support in the fight against Malaria.

The Gates Foundation has committed to spending $1.5 billion over the next five years on maternal and child health.

The Gates Foundation will support the Government in the newly launched ‘India Newborn Action Plan (INAP)’

The Gates Foundation will partner with the Government to promote user friendly toilets to ensure universal sanitation in the country with the objective of addressing sanitation-related health concerns. It has been agreed that the Ministry of Urban Development and the Foundation would cooperate in four areas — innovative technology demonstration in respect of toilets and sewage management, promoting decentralized sewerage systems that enable disposal of sewage at habitation level rather than pooling of sewage, capacity building in sanitation sector and promoting the use of toilets.

The Gates Foundation will work with the Indian government to wipe out kala azar. The second largest parasitic killer in the world after malaria, kala azar is concentrated in 52 districts in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. India officially reported fewer than 5,000 kala azar cases in 2011 and fewer than 100 deaths due to the disease, according to the World Health Organisation. However, the international health community believes these to be gross underestimation; while India reported just over 1,000 malaria deaths in 2011, medical journal Lancetplaced the estimate 40 times higher.

The Foundation has offered to help in monitoring of the progress made with regard to Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), the flagship financial inclusion scheme of the government.

And, these are just a handful out of the numerous social and philanthropic projects that the Gates Foundation is involved in, in Asia. Activities of The Gates Foundation are spread out all over the globe:

The United States Division of the Foundation works to improve U.S. high school and post-secondary education and support vulnerable children and families in Washington State.

The Africa Division is involved in humanitarian projects related to HIV, Polio, Malaria, etc. The South America Division is working on improving emergency response.

The goal of the European Division is to identify, support, and shape scientific research that can have the most impact and to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into solutions that improve people’s health and save lives.

So, you can see that basically, the blessed reach of the Gates Foundation is till every continent on earth!

For me, Bill Gates is a man greater than the greats like Steve Jobs or Donald Trump. In addition to being a prominent tycoon, he is also an honourable social entrepreneur. He has committed to donating his entire wealth for the larger cause of humanitarian work and not for passing it down to his next generation. I mean, this is not an easy thing to do. It needs courage and conviction. This displays his saintly character and noble ideals. Sadly, not all wealthy people of the world are like that. They keep their wealth for the wasteful act of making ostentatious displays of wealth and projecting power. If we look even at Indian businessmen or Chinese businessmen, hardly two or three affluent persons utilize their wealth for their fellow human beings. If I have to name people to whom God has bestowed wisdom apart from their wealth, I will name Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg and Azim Premji. Everyone is familiar with Warren Buffett who is in the process of donating 99% of his fortune to various charities, a pledge that has been unmatched in the world of the super-elite. In 2010, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett launched “The Giving Pledge”, a campaign for the rich to commit to giving atleast half of their wealth to philanthropy. The young and charismatic Mark Zuckerberg signed the Pledge in 2010. Azim Premji is the first Indian to sign up for the The Giving Pledge. These noble men from America prove that there’s no such thing as giving too much and that not all rich people are selfish and diabolical. Many men speak of charity, nobleness and godliness but only a few choose to act. These men are indeed a gift to the world and their very existence in the world proves that God exists and they are the chosen few by God to spread happiness and hope for the millions of downtrodden people of the world. They are truly global citizens. In fact, I am of the view that the Indian Government should award “Bharat Ratna” to Bill Gates for his contribution towards the poor of India.

Hats off to you Bill. I salute your divinity. #Respect

“Acquiring wealth through hard work and enterprise is noteworthy but serving humanity using it is nobler and you are a shining example in this regard.”

-Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu for Mr. Bill Gates

“Just as he revolutionized the basic human thought process through the personal computer revolution, Bill Gates has saved millions of lives by donating billions of dollars for transforming conditions of human existence. At a time when the anti-polio campaign was threatened for want of adequate funds, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation stepped in with help. They are invaluable partners in our fight against disease and death.”

Union Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan for Mr. Bill Gates

“We see equal value in all lives. And so we are dedicated to improving the quality of life for individuals around the world. From the education of students in Chicago, to the health of a young mother in Nigeria, we are catalysts of human promise everywhere.”

Recently, the Indian Prime Minister and the Chinese President were both quoted making references to the 21st century as the Asian century. While Prime Minister Modi made the said remark on his visit to Japan, President Xi made the remark in an Indian newspaper op-ed a day before he arrived on his India visit. Finding the term “Asian Century” term interesting and curious, I was compelled to undertake some research on the topic and share my views on the same.

Background

After the end of World War II, the world went through a phase of revival and renewal. The following activities took place after WWII:

Rebuilding of Europe

Bolstering of the USA

India got independence and embarked on the path of development

China got free and embarked on the path of development

Japan started redevelopment and got the support of USA

Soviet Union embarked on the path of development and industrialization

After nearly 5-6 decades these countries have developed significantly, so much so that pertaining to economics, each has created a niche for itself in the world market; for instance:

India is today the world leader in IT, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare.

China is today the world leader in manufacturing and infrastructure development.

Japan is today the world leader in high-end technology.

Russia is today a great “energy superpower”.

Leadership

The world has witnessed the rise of strong nationalist leaders at the helm of these nations’ governments in recent years. Be it India’s Modi or Japan’s Abe, China’s Xi or Russia’s Putin; all these leaders are firmly committed to the national renewal of their countries and take their respective nations at the apex of world power. Each one of them is backed by his country’s popular mandate.

Strengths

Today, the stands taken by these 4 Asian superpowers on various issues affect the whole world. From world politics to world economy, diplomatic standoffs to military standoffs, alliances to rivalries; no developed country in the world takes them lightly anymore. All of these 4 are either nuclear powers (India, China, Russia) or have a nuclear security of some sort (USA’s nuclear umbrella on Japan). These countries now engage in a host of international issues and also provide their valuable contributions in different arenas, example: India’s contribution in space research (through ISRO) and medical sciences, Japan’s contribution in high-tech innovations, automotive industry, consumer electronics, robotics and also management tools like six sigma and lean, China’s contribution in low cost infrastructure development in various countries, Russia’s supply of crucial energy resources to Europe and also its defence-industrial exports.

India

The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people (2011 census), more than a sixth of the world’s population. Already containing 17.5% of the world’s population, India is projected to be the world’s most populous country by 2025, surpassing China, its population reaching 1.6 billion by 2050.

India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan; and, by 2030, India’s dependency ratio should be just over 0.4.

All of this makes one thing clear, that India is the future supplier of the world’s manpower. It will be the nation with the largest work force in the world. India has a huge opportunity to leverage this demographic dividend to provide the necessary growth required to catapult it to the top of the world economy. Presently, India also controls a major chunk of the world’s food supply.

Also, this will make India the largest market in the world with a lot of scope for various categories of products: luxury, automobile, digital, consumer electronics, etc. owing to its youngest population in the world.

India’s manufacturing industry has held a constant share of its economic contribution, while the fastest-growing part of the economy has been its services sector – which includes construction, telecom, software and information technologies, infrastructure, tourism, education, health care, travel, trade, and banking. India is also quite advanced in the pharmaceuticals and medical research sectors.

China

The socialist market economy of China is the world’s second largest economy by nominal GDP and by purchasing power parity after the United States. It is the world’s fastest-growing major economy, with growth rates averaging 10% over the past 30 years.

China is a global hub for manufacturing, and is both largest manufacturing economy in the world and the largest exporter of goods. China is also the world’s fastest growing consumer market and second largest importer of goods.

Japan has a large industrial capacity, and is home to some of the largest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronics, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemical substances, textiles, and processed foods. Japan is a leading nation in scientific research, particularly technology, machinery and biomedical research. Nearly 700,000 researchers share a US$130 billion research and development budget, the third largest in the world. Japan is a world leader in fundamental scientific research, having produced sixteen Nobel laureates in either physics, chemistry or medicine, three Fields medalists, and one Gauss Prize laureate. Some of Japan’s more prominent technological contributions are in the fields of electronics, automobiles, machinery,earthquake engineering, industrial robotics, optics, chemicals, semiconductors and metals. Japan leads the world in robotics production and use, possessing more than half (402,200 of 742,500) of the world’s industrial robots. Japan is the world’s third largest automobile manufacturing country, has the largest electronics goods industry, and is often ranked among the world’s most innovative countries leading several measures of global patent filings. Facing increasing competition from China and South Korea, manufacturing in Japan today now focuses primarily on high-tech and precision goods, such as optical instruments, hybrid vehicles, and robotics. Japan is also the pioneer of modern high-speed rail travel. Its world famous bullet train “the Shinkansen” is also the safest bullet train in the world with not a single accident since it was launched.

Russia

In recent years, Russia has frequently been described in the media as an energy superpower. The country has:

The world’s largest natural gas reserves

The world’s 8th largest oil reserves

The world’s 2nd largest coal reserves

Russia is:

The world’s leading natural gas exporter

The world’s top supplier of arms, exporting weapons to about 80 countries.

The largest oil exporter in the world

The largest oil producer in the world

The 2nd largest natural gas producer in the world

The 3rd largest electricity producerin the world

The 4th largest nuclear energy producer in the world

The 5th largest renewable energy producer in the world

Russia was the first country to develop civilian nuclear power and to construct the world’s first nuclear power plant. The civilian nuclear energy sector is rapidly developing in Russia, with an aim of increasing the total share of nuclear energy from current 16.9% to 23% by 2020.

In May 2014 on a two-day trip to Shanghai, President Putin signed a deal to supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. Construction of a pipeline to facilitate the deal was agreed whereby Russia would contribute $55bn to the cost, and China $22bn, in what Putin described as “the world’s biggest construction project for the next four years”. The natural gas would begin to flow sometime between 2018 and 2020 and would continue for 30 years at an ultimate cost to China of $400bn.

Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. It has the second largest fleet of ballistic missile submarines and is the only country apart from the United States with a modern strategic bomber force. Russia’s tank force is the largest in the world; its surface navy and air force are among the largest ones.

The country has a large and fully developed indigenous arms industry, producing most of its own military equipment with only few types of weapons imported. Russia is the world’s top supplier of arms, accounting for around 30% of worldwide weapons sales and exporting weapons to about 80 countries.

So in short, these are the USPs of each country for future growth:

India (World’s Back Office)

Manpower/Human Resources

China (World’s Factory)

Capital

Japan (World’s Intellectual Reservoir)

High Technology

Russia (World’s Energy Superpower)

Oil, Natural Gas, Coal

Now you can imagine the amount of power these 4 countries can wield on the world if they integrate more closely with each other. Also, a future supercontinent has to be a force for good if it has to survive the global potency test.

The Asian Century

Everyone is well aware of the power of European countries before the world wars. It used to be said that the sun never sets on the British Empire! Denmark, Spain, Portugal, France, Netherlands, Britain, Italy, Austria, Belgium: all of them were vociferously fighting each other and carving out spheres of influence and colonies among themselves. These countries thought that they were invincible. Sadly, it took 2 world wars and lot of bloodshed for them to realize what a waste all that warmongering was. They had fought and destroyed each other. They were totally shattered and had to rebuild the whole of Europe. Fortunately, after the wars they realized their mistake, owned up to them and embarked on the road to reconciliation, development and shared prosperity. They established free trade zones, free movement zones (through the Schengen Agreement), and above all after some time they got united into a single geopolitical union which we today call the European Union. And we very well know that despite their past prejudices and enmity towards each other and destruction of Europe; today their mutual trust and cooperation has once again led to the European resurgence.

The World War II brought the downfall of European domination and rise of American domination on the world. The era of a unipolar world with superpower USA at the apex of world affairs is on its last leg. The fulcrum of world politics is once again readjusting itself towards multipolarity and the Asian countries are having an increasingly greater say on the world stage. India, China, Japan, ASEAN (Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, etc.) and Russia all are engaged in geopolitical jostling around the world.

Today standing on similar crossroads as European countries in the past, the Asian powers have 2 choices: either to repeat the European powers’ historical mistake because of mutual deficit of trust and pending insignificant issues OR to replicate the European powers’ present cooperation and coordination in the world affairs that has led to their rise once again.

UPSC-2013 AIR-1 Gaurav Agrawal(IAS): Khelo India

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